WRT54G, 2 computers connect, different response

I use MAC computers both connected to the same router.
The G4 Tower is connected to the router via internal Ethernet and It has connection all the way through to the ISP and internet connection (I am typing on it now), however I can not access the Router Menu page through the web browser using 192.168.1.1 address. ???

Now the other part of weird here is my other computer CAN connect to the WRT54G Router Menu page. It is a MacBookPro wireless and it is connecting to the router via built in AirPort wireless. Looking in the Menu setup page of my Linksys Router, my local IP address is 192.168.1.1. This computer has network status GREEN lights of AirPort,Airport Settings,Network Settings, ISP, but is RED for Internet and Server. So I can not connect to the internet.

Now my service provider said I need to use PPPoE for the ID, where a User and Password needs to be used. The MAC G4 Tower does use PPPoE to connect to the internet, but the Wireless MacBookPro uses Airport, an in order to use the ISP username and password the computer says I need to use a bridge mode. I have used this router and these computers prior to the power blowing out before, without trouble. If there is something called a bridge mode, i have not found it yet and I have been spending days on this.

A friend gave me another WRT54G, but it was an older version, I felt my first one must have been damage. I got the older version working, for a week or so, then the power blew again after I spent half a grand getting it fixed before starting up with the second router. Un able to get the internet connection back again on that router, I tired my first WRT54G route again, and it is currently in the status that is described in this post.

Is there a simple answer as to why only on computer and it's browser can reach the router's menu page, and the other computer can not using identical addresses?

How might i access a bridge mode, so that PPPoE can be used with Airport.

I might try Reset on the back of the router again, it's just that I might loose access to this post if I can't get one of the systems connecting, and I am wanting to here some of your answers.

Thanks in advance if I can not get back here. Please reply using no Acronyms as they are useless to the Neophyte without a your dictionary.

If your Internet Service Provider (ISP) indicates you meed to use PPPOE you are on a on Digital Subscriber Line (DSL). You should have a DSL Modem, your router and the computers you want to share the DSL with. Since your G4 tower can connect to the Internet, you should determine if it is doing the logon to your DSL, you may have installed a PPPOE client on your G4 and the DSL modem is in bridge mode, where there is no logon by the modem itself. How may ethernet ports does your DSL modem have? If it has more than one, the modem itself may have a router built into itself and you do not need the your WRT54G router, it may have a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuation Protocol)server bulit into itself too, which issues IP Adress to computers connected to the ethernet ports if there is more than one. If the G4 has a PPPOE client you will want to disable it. You want the WRT54G to do the PPPOE logon and be the DHCP server. You have t change the default setting of the WA port of your WRT54G from DHCP to PPPOE and put in your DSL user name and password. There may be a conflict of IP addresses between your modem, which may have the same IP address as the default address of your WRT54G, which is 192.168.1.1. If that is true, you should change the default adress of your WRT54G to someting like 192.168.1.2 or 192.168.1.3. You want to enable the WRT54G to be a DHCP server and issue address in the 192.168.1.XXX range where XXX is not equal to 1 or 2 or 3. Those are teh setting on the basic configuration page of your router and yo have to save the setting after changing the setting.

Thanks so much, everything you said gave me the background and understanding i was looking for.

It still took me about 3 hours this morning because one of the routers seemed not to be broadcasting an open connection with a link name. I unplugged the router and pressed in on the reset button for about 40 seconds, and after powering up the router still never showed up as an option to link to.

I did get one of the routers to show up, and your telling me that the router is to send the PPPoE information did the trick on one of the problems. I change my router address also and that fixed the other problem.

Now to learn something about security, as my neighbor has a bed & breakfast with wireless for guest, and i found out that in the past her son hacked into my router to download music.